Stand-Alone Sequel to City of Heroes to Be on Retail Shelves Oct. 31 with Two-Day Head Start for Pre-Order Customers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2005--NCsoftÂ® North America announces that City of Villains(TM) has reached gold master status and will appear on retailers' shelves in North America at the end of the month. NCsoft also confirmed that customers who purchased and registered their City of Villains pre-order boxes will receive a two-day head start for game play.

City of Villains, a stand-alone sequel to last year's hit, City of HeroesÂ®, is expected to be released on Oct. 31, with a subscription price of $14.99 per month. The two-day head start will begin after 12 a.m. EST on Oct. 29. Purchasers of the City of Villains pre-order box, which is currently available at retailers across North America, have been invited into the City of Villains beta test and may participate in the head-start.

Existing City of Heroes' customers can purchase City of Villains and subscribe to both games for the single subscription price of $14.99. Both games were developed by Cryptic Studios(TM).

"City of Heroes was a big hit for NCsoft last year and our retail partners anticipate City of Villains to be one of the top PC games of the holiday season," said Robert Garriott, CEO of NCsoft North America. "I also know that our customers are happy about our single subscription rate for both games, which makes it a tremendous value as well."

In City of Villains, players will be able to take on villainous personas, customizing villain costumes and building bases for their super-powered groups. Additionally, the game has a variety of graphical and technological improvements and provides players a huge set of criminal missions and events within the Rogue Isles(TM). City of Villains will also include the ability to fight against player controlled heroes and villains within special designated zones.

City of Villains will hit retail shelves with an anticipated price of $49.99 for its standard edition and $79.99 for the feature-packed collector's DVD edition.

For more information about City of Villains, go to: www.cityofvillains.com.

About NCsoft

NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company launched two massively multiplayer titles on the same day last year, LineageÂ® II and City of Heroes, and in April of 2005 the hit game Guild WarsÂ®. In the coming months, NCsoft is poised to launch two more massively multiplayer titles: City of Villains and Auto Assault(TM). More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.PlayNC.com.

About Cryptic Studios

Cryptic Studios(TM), Inc., located in Los Gatos, California, was established in July of 2000 and is an independent developer of massively multiplayer online games for the PC and next generation consoles. Its first game, City of Heroes, launched in April 2004. The game takes place in a virtual world where thousands of people play simultaneously, take on the role of super-powered heroes, fight villains and help create a dynamic story in a visually-stunning, 3-D graphical world.

NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Lineage, Guild Wars, Auto Assault and all associated NCsoft logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. City of Heroes, City of Villains, Rogue Isles and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cryptic Studios, Inc. and NCsoft Corporation. Cryptic Studios is a trademark of Cryptic Studios, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.